Eastern Towhees have all the makings of a lovable bird: they’re round, energetic little characters that wear a black hood and hop like rabbits. Their song is an easy-to-learn, clearly enunciated, drink-your-tea! They’re highly entertaining individuals, and one can easily get distracted by watching them industrially dig through the leaves with absolute focus.
And there’s this one towhee in particular that I’m quite fond of.
Every morning on my walk, I pass by multiple territories belonging to these sprightly sparrows. Each one rings out with the distinctive drink-your-tea!
Except one. This particular individual greets us with a shortened drink-tea!
It’s not that he doesn’t know the song; once in a while he’ll belt out the whole thing just like his neighbors. But most of the time, it’s the abridged version.
Perhaps he’s bucking the system; raising some baby towhees a little bit differently. Maybe a new generation will be released into the world this year, ready to sing a new song and blaze a new migration trail.
But honestly, it seems like he’s simply announcing one thing to the whole community: It’s not that he can’t sing the song correctly, he just doesn’t feel like singing it correctly.
In the words of my mother: “What a little goober.”
